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Title: ORNL/IAT ARMATURE DIAGNOSTICS DEMONSTRATION TEST REPORT: PART TWO: BENCH DEMONSTRATION

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/930854· OSTI ID:930854

The purpose of the present effort was to demonstrate 'on the fly' temperature measurement of railgun armatures on a bench top railgun. The effort builds on the previous test that utilized a portable unit with armature speeds ranging from 50 to 90 m/s. The tests described here involved higher speeds, ranging from 300 to 500 m/s. The method to accomplish the measurement involves pulsed laser illumination of a phosphor-coated armature. The duration of the ensuing fluorescence indicates temperature. The measured temperatures, obtained both inside the muzzle and outside in free flight, ranged between 80 to 110 C. The required pulsed fluorescence was made possible by successfully sensing the position of the armature while traveling within the laser illumination and fluorescence sensing fields-of-view. A high-speed camera also captured images of the moving armatures after exiting the railgun. These images sometimes included the fluorescing region of the phosphor coating.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; Work for Others (WFO)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
930854
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-2006/594; WN0219080; TRN: US200813%%288
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English